Spend some time looking at webcam images from New York's Times Square or London's Oxford Street and after a while you feel like you can almost taste the pollution from all the traffic. So for a bit of fresh air, though rather less action, how about switching to a webcam that has just taken the record for being the highest in the world.

Placed at 5,675 meters on Kala Patthar mountain in the Himalayas, the high-definition webcam gives a clear view (when there are no blizzards blowing) of the 8,848-meter peak of Mount Everest.

The special type-M12 camera, built by German camera tech company Mobotix, must also be one of the toughest webcams in the world, as it has to withstand strong winds and temperatures as low as -22F (-30C).

The camera, which is powered by a solar panel, is being used to document weather conditions as part of the international climate and environmental monitoring conference SHARE (Stations at High Altitude for Research on the Environment).

"We spent months developing the perfect setup for the installation and invested a lot of time testing and verifying the system," said Giampietro Kohl, leader of the technical committee in charge of the camera. He added, "It inspired us on to set a record: operating the highest webcam in the world."

Speaking to news.com.au on Friday, Mobotix Asia-Pacific Director Graham Wheeler said, "We've set a record today for the highest webcam, and the Mobotix technology is allowing some beautiful, scenic pictures from the top of the highest mountain in the world."

If you want to check it out, click here – though keep in mind that it's only active during daylight hours (6am to 6pm Nepalese time).

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